A Spy Story: Protective Behavior By Team Members

You have likely seen many instances where people are struggling exercising new skills, but are afraid to ask for help. Then once their skills and confidence grow, they realize that it was always ok to ask for help.

What is the role of the leader when people are developing new skills? A review of Hersey-Blanchard’s situational leadership is well worth some study for a brilliant, yet simple, framework that offers guidance on the role of a leader in developing people and their skills. There is much material available on situational leadership. This link provides a brief overview https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hersey-and-blanchard-model.asp

 

A Book Titled “I Was Never Here”

I found an interesting example of avoiding asking for assistance in a book I recently read.  The book was written by a former spy. The story is about his past work in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), which is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. The book is titled I Was Never Here and is written by Andrew Hirsch.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60288495-i-was-never-here

The Book and Behavior in Organizations

The book was less exciting than I expected considering the author was a spy, but it is an interesting read regardless.  It’s interesting because it’s about people, and individual and team behavior in organizations. 

The book jacket makes clear that the book isn’t a James Bond thriller, but instead offers insight into his former role in CSIS. And CSIS is a large federal agency that does great work, however it is a typical organization with battles for resources, and protective behavior amongst teams within the organization. 

An interesting section describes surveillance of a car which belonged to a person of interest.  A mistake is made which slows the surveillance work, and the CSIS technical experts are very protective of the team member that made the mistake.  This slows the work.  The protective team behavior complicates the greater goal of the organization to the frustration of the other teams involved and senior leadership.

Embarrassed to Admit It

My main interest is in public speaking and leadership skills and there is often reluctance by people to address gaps in these areas. Considering this reluctance, I enjoyed this passage on page 76 of the copy I read. He described moving from a desk job in the agency where he managed various data reporting needs, and then the difficult move to more dangerous field work.  

“When I didn’t know what I was doing I was embarrassed to admit it. As my confidence grew, so did my willingness to admit when I needed help.”

It's common that people are reluctant to acknowledge a skill gap or ask for assistance. The situational leadership model provides a framework to help leaders in the art of assessing skill development of team members and responding appropriately.